176 SHORT STORIES
them to, wait a little and told the four people who
had come that the Amildar required ten balls of
jaggery and two more were required for the
Shekdar, and that these four people should bring
three balls each. They did not agree easily.
" We gave jaggery when it was our turn. What is
this raid again ?" In deference to their grumbling,
Ugrappa told them that they should bring two balls
of jaggery each and that he himself would give the
other four. He told Muniya to go to his house
and bring four balls of jaggery.
When the problem about the jaggery was
settled, Rama Sastry said: "Ugrappa, because
you give so readily, these people ask you so frequ-
ently/5 "Because our headman is adjusting himself
to them,33 the priest said, "these people are treat-
ing the village with consideration. The Amildar
has three hundred villages to look after. Yet, this
year, he gave a well to Madarangi village. Did
he give one to every village ? Supposing we had
to sink this well ourselves, could we have done it
with ten balls of jaggery?" The Sastry said: "The
Amildar with three hundred villages to look after
does not give a well to any village out of his pay.
He gets it made from the Government's money.
But, for whom is the jaggery ?" Ugrappa said:
" How could Government's money come to our